MEMS Foundry Engagement Guide Wiki
Welcome to the Wiki MEMS Foundry Engagement Guide The MEMS Foundry Engagement Guide is a “How-To” guide for companies looking for MEMS foundry services; to better connect the MEMS supply chain. This is a joint effort of MEMS Industry Group members. For more information about MEMS Industry Group, please visit www.memsindustrygroup.org Sections Background Information Differences between MEMS fabrication compared to IC fabrication The different types of foundries Product maturity levels How do you know when you are ready to approach a foundry and how to start the conversation? A self-evaluation checklist These are questions that a MEMS developer should answer to determine their readiness to approach a foundry. Depending on the number of questions that a device manufacturer/designer is able to answer, the company will be able to determine their manufacturing readiness factor. Application and Market #What is the description of your application? #What is the description of your target market? #What is the size of your target market? Device Description #What type of device do you want to produce? #What is the package type? #What is the level of necessary system integration? Cost Targets #What is the cost target per die? #What is the cost target per wafer? Volume Projections #What is the volume projection in the development stage? #What is the volume projection in the production stage? #What is the length and slop of ramp? Risk Evaluation #What is the overall impression of feasibility? #What are the specifications that a foundry must meet? #What is the description of the aforementioned specification? #What wafer and die yield do you expect? #What are your data collection requirements in regards to: *SEM *IR Microscopy *Thickness *CD Measurements *Number of wafers sacrificed per lot for cross-sectioning (number of measurements per wafer) Assesment in Product Life Cycle #In what phase of the PLC is your device in regards to *Advanced Development *Development *Pre-production *Production Timing #What is the internal qualification timing of getting your device into production? #What is the external qualification timing of getting your device into production? Previous Fabrication #Has the design been fabricated elsewhere? Device Design #What is the device design of each level? #Do you have a cross sectional image? Process Flow #Are you able to provide a short written outlie of the process flow? Design/Fabrication #How many photomasks does your device require? #What is your required delivery schedule and conditions of delivery? #How many wafers are required? #What wafer thickness to you require? #What resistivity do you require? #What is the thickness of your device? #Are there any additional wafer requirements? #How many designs per wafer do you require? #How many die per wafer do you require? #Will you supply any materials? #If so, what materials? #Do you have a preferred vendor for starting wafer substrates? #Will you provide any pre-processed materials supplied by another foundry? #Will you use another foundry for post-processing? #Are you working with another foundry for 1st/2nd sourcing? Starting a Conversation with a Foundry Information your company should you be willing to share with a foundry A foundry qualification checklist MEMS Marketplace - Foundries and their capabilities List of questions to ask a foundry How to write an RFQ (request for proposal) Checklist /step-by-step instructions Do’s and don’ts of the negotiation process How to match requirements to capabilities Before entering a supplier customer relationship it is worth to consider the following questions: Questionnaire Product #Which product type is being asked for from the customer: early stage, high value or low cost ? #What is the level of the product maturity? #What are the volume expectations and price projection from independent market research? #What are the market specific requirements like e.g. quality level, FAR time, etc. #Is there a dedicated valuation of the foundries technology to the product: Like e.g. unique technology competence or IP (WLP, TSV , ...) #Are the critical device characteristics and the corresponding design/material/process correlations known? Customer #Does the product fit to the customer? #Is the customer strong enough to enter the projected market regarding *technical knowledge *market position *financial background *IP portfolio #What is the MEMS comprehension level of the customer? #To what extent are backup plans and iterative technology development cycles considered? #Beside pricing, what other motivations does the customer have to choose your foundry? #Does the foundry have similar customers to gain on synergies (e.g. similar applications)? Foundry #Is there a principal technology matching? #Are the technology gaps defined and manageable? #If yes, are they within the scope of the foundries strategical technology roadmap? #What are the costs to close technology gaps, either by new equipment set up or alternative process/module development? #Is the customer aware of these costs? Who covers them? #Is there enough engineering resources available for the development and design in phase? #Is the foundry open to process adaptations or introduction of new processes/materials if irreconcilable difficulties occur? #Is the used facility and technology setup able to achieve reasonable profits also in mid-term? #Is the expected price drop balanced by gradual technology improvements? #Is the foundry capable to fulfil the volume and volume expansion plans? #Are there yield targets and yield improvements targets available? #Is the existing level of quality adequate? #Are there failure analysis procedures with sufficient response time established? A guide to how a foundry selects customers High fulfillment of customer requirements promises a high grade of customer satisfaction. However for development and production of MEMS devices not all technical and business related risk can be completely controlled in every stage. Therefore customer expectations and supplier performance may differ. A MEMS foundry is generally partnering already during the product development phase and therefore must take a proactive approach to the customer-supplier relationship. The formation of a mature volume MEMS product takes up an extended time frame. Customer acquisition and implementation may end up in a costly venture, the length of development, prototyping and qualification phase is ambiguous and quantifying the return of investment at the start of a product development is rather a guess with large error marks. The selective acquisition as well as the elaborate evaluation of potential customer is therefore laying the foundation to beneficial future business and effective growth of customer base. The following outline, considering product attributes, customer type and foundry competence may help a foundry and potential customers to accommodate the right partner with their appropriate products. Early Stage MEMS Products Product attributes *Commercialization of new technologies, products or applications *New system concept based on new technology, material or design *High price, high margin, high risk, low technology readiness, low market readiness *Various iterative product development phases, may result in high development costs *Uncertain or delayed volume ramp up *Unique IP protection Customer type: *Venture capital based companies *University spin offs *Fabless companies Necessary foundry core competence: *Profound expertise in MEMS process development and device integration *High flexibility, short term process adaptations *Strong allocation of resources to R&D tasks *Open to new material, process and handling procedures *No financial pressure if prolonged time to market High Value MEMS Product Product attributes: *High end and high price markets like automotive, space, medicine, safety or industrial *Advanced but proven technology for existing or new products or applications *Distinct unique selling proposition, feature, performance or quality level *High application specific requirements of product functionality, reliability and robustness *Strong IP protection Customer type: *Focused on specific application, strong technical background *Profound experience on market, pricing and product specification *Balanced risk / performance work plan *Sequential projects phases with allocated NRE Necessary Foundry core competence: *Production line with superior quality level and established quality control system *Experienced and skilled engineering team *Awareness of dedicated market conditions and regulations *Focus on high yield and defect-free production Matured MEMS Product Product attributes: *Standardized and fixed technology and design *Technology is close to generic semiconductor processes *High volume market like consumer like e.g. consumer electronics or telecommunication *Constant cost reduction rate (up to 20% per year) *Base technology is more or less open, IP only on specific design or architecture Customer type: *Target: conventional outsourcing strategy to several suppliers *Venture capital based companies /spin off in late product development stage *Fabless OEM with major market share turning to disruptive MEMS technology *OEM closing down own manufacturing line Necessary foundry core competence: *Focus on highest volume and low cost *Standardized MEMS process modules *High automation grade and batch processing *Fast ramp up capability, option for capacity expansion Category:How a MEMS Foundry Selects Customers How to navigate through a process Category:table of contents Describe your topic A “How-To” guide for companies looking for MEMS foundry services; to better connect the MEMS supply chain. 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